Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (2014) 457: 208–214 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2014.04.016 Behavioural effects of hypersaline exposure on the lobster Homarus gammarus (L) and the crab Cancer pagurus (L) Katie Smyth 1,*, Krysia Mazik1,, Michael Elliott1, 1 Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, United Kingdom * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Smyth). Suggested citation: Smyth, K., Mazik, K., and Elliott, M., 2014. Behavioural effects of hypersaline exposure on the lobster Homarus gammarus (L) and the crab Cancer pagurus (L). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 457: 208- 214 Abstract There is scarce existing information in the literature regarding the responses of any marine species, especially commercially valuable decapod crustaceans, to hypersalinity. Hypersaline discharges due to solute mining and desalination are increasing in temperate areas, hence the behavioural responses of the edible brown crab, Cancer pagurus, and the European lobster, Homarus gammarus, were studied in relation to a marine discharge of highly saline brine using a series of preference tests. Both species had a significant behavioural response to highly saline brine, being able to detect and avoid areas of hypersalinity once their particular threshold salinity was reached (salinity 50 for C. pagurus and salinity 45 for H. gammarus). The presence of shelters had no effect on this response and both species avoided hypersaline areas, even when shelters were provided there. If the salinity of commercial effluent into the marine environment exceeds the behavioural thresholds found here, it is likely that adults of these species will relocate to areas of more favourable salinity. In management terms it is advisable to ensure that any hypersaline discharges are limited to the lowest tolerance of all the economically valuable species in the area to avoid loss of revenue in fishery areas. 1. Introduction Cancer pagurus, the edible brown crab (Linnaeus 1758) and Homarus gammarus, the European lobster (Linnaeus 1758) are both stenohaline, osmoconforming species that are generally subtidal but can occur in the lower intertidal zone. Most existing literature on salinity change in H. gammarus relates to their physiological responses to hyposaline conditions (Charmantier et al., 1984; Lucu and Devesconi, 1999; Pavičić-Hamer et al., 2003) and for C. pagurus there are no such studies. Likewise, little is known of either species' response to hypersaline challenge. In their natural environments, temperate crustaceans that are generally fully marine in nature rarely, if ever, experience hypersalinity hence the lack of attention to this subject. The principal focus of studies that have been made on high salinities relates to the effect of desalination plant discharges in hot climates (Meerganz von Medeazza, 2005; Raventos et al., 2006; Smith et al., 2007) or species that live in saltpan and saline lakes that have high evaporation rates (Clegg and Gajardo, 2009; Nunes et al., 2006) or mangrove swamps (Anger and Charmantier, 2000; Gillikin et al., 2004). Because hypersaline conditions are relatively scarce in temperate regions there is correspondingly less information on the effects of hypersalinity on temperate species. A consequence of increasing worldwide demands for fresh water is an increased interest in desalination in all regions — including temperate areas. Currently, desalination plants are principally located in the southern areas of the Northern Hemisphere (e.g. the Middle East and the Americas), where low rainfall limits the availability of fresh water (Raventos et al., 2006). Desalination, however, is now increasing in more northerly areas such as the European side of the Mediterranean Sea, and has been taking place on the islands of Jersey and Guernsey since the 1970s (Romeril, 1977) and in mainland UK since 2010 (Li et al., 2011). An additional, recent source of hypersalinity in the marine environment is solute mining when creating underground caverns for the storage of natural gas and for carbon sequestration (Bérest et al., 2001; Dusseault et al., 2001; Quintino et al., 2008). Industries such as these have inevitably been accompanied by the need to discharge the resultant brine at sea with the concomitant impact this may have on the marine fauna local to the point of discharge. Such discharge activities occur offshore from the coast of Portugal (Quintino et al., 2008) and the UK (Evans, 2008) for example. The brine is discharged through a diffuser to disperse it rapidly and thereby reduce its environmental impact but, within the discharge plume, ambient salinity is increased (Cutts et al., 2004), with discharges from 1 © 2014, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (2014) 457: 208–214 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2014.04.016 desalination being up to approximately 2.5 times the salinity of full seawater (salinity of ≈90) (Fernández- Torquemada et al., 2005) and solute mining up to 8.5 times (salinity of ≈300) (Quintino et al., 2008). Commonly, discharges are made in coastal waters which often support commercial shellfisheries. For example a solute mining discharge off the coast of East Yorkshire, UK, is sited within an area that supports nationally and locally important fisheries for H. gammarus and C. pagurus, which contribute significantly to the economy (Walmsley and Pawson, 2007). Environmental salinity influences the reproduction, larval dispersal, larval recruitment and geographical distribution of marine crustaceans (Anger, 1991, 1996; Spivak and Cuesta, 2009) and therefore has the potential to influence growth, mortality, health and immune functions and reproductive success, hence salinity changes are likely to impact on crustacean population dynamics. Consequently, the ecological effects of increased hypersaline discharges may also have a significant and widespread commercial relevance. This is true in terms of the success of fishing and post-harvest marketing operations as well as having potentially negative impacts on larval recruitment and stock replenishment. Altered overt behaviour (behaviours such as limb, mouthpart or body movements, rather than concealed behaviour such as heart or scaphognathite beat changes) is usually the first response to changed salinity and this can help organisms avoid adverse conditions (Curtis et al., 2007). One survival strategy employed by aquatic crustaceans when challenged with high stressor intensities in their environments (such as salinity changes, predators, vibration, noise), is an escape or avoidance response, (e.g. a movement of the whole or part of the organism) away from the affected area (e.g. by fleeing, retreating into a burrow or protective shell, or as with barnacles, withdrawing behind protective opercular plates) (Kinne, 1964). The failure of a behavioural response system can lead to reduced individual fitness and associated adverse consequences for the population (Miller, 1980). Habitat structure can influence the physiological and behavioural mechanisms of organisms directly and must be considered when interpreting the responses of animals in relation to physicochemical variables (McGaw, 2001). For many lobster and crab species, the presence of shelter may induce a crustacean to stay in an area of high salinity when conditions become sufficiently unfavourable as to otherwise cause it to vacate the area (Cobb, 1971b; Howard and Nunny, 1983; McGaw, 2001; Shumway, 1978; Smith and Herrkind, 1992; Spanier and Almog- Shtayer, 1992; Spanier and Zimmer-Faust, 1988). Physical factors and seabed topography have been shown to affect the size composition of H. gammarus and Homarus americanus populations, with substratum type and current strength also having major influences (Howard and Nunny, 1983; Robichaud and Campbell, 1991). It is hypothesised here that there are quantifiable changes to the behaviour of H. gammarus and C. pagurus in response to hypersaline media. This hypothesis has been tested with a view to providing information to aid the understanding of the potential sustainability of commercially important crustacean species facing such stresses. Such studies are important, given the imminence of increased gas cavern, carbon sequestration and desalination plant construction projects worldwide and their potential impacts on international commercial crustacean fisheries. The aim of this study was to determine whether and, if so, to what extent, hypersalinity causes halokinesis/halotaxis (a movement in response to salinity) in H. gammarus and C. pagurus, and, whether the presence of a shelter would affect the salinity preferences of these species. For the purposes of this investigation, hypersalinity is defined as any salinity above, and hyposalinity any salinity below, that which the species experience normally in the wild in an open temperate marine area. In the case of the animals tested here, normal salinity is 35. The practical salinity scale, which has no units, is used here to state salinity (UNESCO, 1985). 2. Methods Creel-caught, intermoult specimens of minimum landing size and up to 4 mm above C. pagurus (130 mm carapace width) and H. gammarus (87 mm carapace length), were obtained from local commercial landings at Bridlington, East Yorkshire, UK, where the environmental salinity is 35. Animals were transported,